A BJP delegation led by party’s general secretary Dushyant Goutham, state president Ashwini Sharma and other Punjab leaders met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday and submitted a memorandum asking for the reopening of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor, which has been shut since March last year due to Covid-related restrictions.
The meeting comes days after SGPC president Bibi Jagir Kaur and former union minister and Akali Dal leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal wrote to the prime minister demanding the same. Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu has also pressed for a similar demand.
Sharma said the prime minister assured them that he will look into their demand. The BJP leaders from Punjab are also expected to meet party president JP Nadda later in the day and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday.
The Pakistan foreign office says they have not heard from India about the demand to reopen the corridor now that Covid-19 cases are on the decline.
November 19 marks the birth anniversary of Sikh guru Guru Nanak and the second anniversary of the opening of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor, which was inaugurated by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan on the eve of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev on November 9, 2019.
As per the Pakistan-India bilateral agreement, 3,000 Indian Sikh pilgrims can be allowed entry into Pakistan for Gurpurab celebrations.
Meanwhile, the Indian government is allowing 1,500 pilgrims to travel to pay obeisance at religious shrines in Pakistan through the Attari-Wagah Integrated Check Post between November 17 and 26, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said last week. The foreign ministry also pointed out to occasions in June this year when Pakistan disallowed Sikh ‘jathas’ travel to Pakistan for various gurdwara visits.
Those travelling this time will be allowed to go to Nankana Sahib as also gurdwaras in Lahore, Hassan Abdal, Kartarpur and Farooqabad.
Village Kartarpur is located at the west bank of river Ravi where Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji spent last 18 years of his life. Gurdwara Sri Kartarpur Sahib falls in district Narowal of Pakistan, about 4.5 k.m. from the international border near the historic town of Dera Baba Nanak, District Gurdaspur, Punjab. The Indian part of Dera Baba Nanak – Sri Kartarpur Sahib Corridor involves a 4.1 km-long four-lane highway from Dera Baba Nanak to international border and a state of the art Passenger Terminal Building (PTB) at the international border.
Read all the Latest India News here
Comments
0 comment